Helping contribute to the rise in demand for analytics is the ongoing growth of online shopping, according to a new study from research firm Market Research Future.

Big data analytics gives companies the ability to understand customer behavior according to the choices they’ve made and provide companies with enough information to formulate strategies, the report said.

Targeted advertising is one of the prime applications that has seen “massive success” thanks to data, the study noted.

An attendee holds a yellow Nokia 8110 4G smartphone, manufactured by HMD Global Oy, during a launch event ahead of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018. At the wireless industrys biggest conference, more than 100,000 people are set to see the latest smartphones, artificial intelligence devices and autonomous drones exhibited by roughly 2,300 companies. Photographer: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg

Angel Garcia/Bloomberg

Also contributing more data and the need for analytics is the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT). Industrial automation for increased operational efficiency is also likely to boost the big data analytics market, the firm said.

Adoption of big data analytics by sectors such as retail, telecommunications, and banking will propel market growth during the forecast period.

The software segment of the market is expected to generate significant revenue throughout the forecast period, owing to the need for operational agility and performance in organizations. The hardware segment is likely to generate revenue at a modest growth rate.